1. Field
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to an optical semiconductor based illuminating apparatus, and more particularly to an optical semiconductor based illuminating apparatus which can reduce defect rate, improve assembly efficiency, and has excellent durability.
2. Discussion of the Background
Optical semiconductor devices such as light emitting diodes (LEDs) or laser diodes (LD) have attracted increasing attention due to advantages such as low power consumption, long lifespan, high durability, and excellent brightness, as compared with incandescent lamps or fluorescent lamps.
Some illuminating apparatuses based on the optical semiconductor have a structure wherein a housing provided with a heat sink or the like is coupled to a socket base having the same shape as that of a halogen lamp or the incandescent lamp, the optical semiconductor is arranged as a light source in the housing, and an optical member surrounding the optical semiconductor is mounted to the housing.
Such an optical semiconductor based illuminating apparatus may employ various methods for mounting the optical member on the housing. For example, a groove is formed along a top edge of the housing, and a ring-shaped projection is formed along a lower edge of the optical member, such that the optical member and the housing can be coupled to each other by forcibly fitting the projection into the groove (hereinafter, referred to as a “first method”).
Also, in order to mount the optical member on the housing, an adhesive may be applied along the lower edge of the optical member to attach the optical member to the housing (hereinafter, referred to as a “second method”).
The first method ensures coupling force. However, it is very difficult to manage tolerance between the projection and the groove. In addition, productivity is lowered since pressure for force fitting is applied to both the optical member and the housing to couple them to each other, and increase in unit cost of components including the optical member and the housing is unavoidable.
The second method takes time to apply the adhesive along the lower edge of the is optical member, thereby lowering productivity. Further, since work performance can vary according to the kind of adhesives, it is difficult to maintain coupling force after the optical member and the housing are coupled, thereby causing defects.
In particular, the second method has a problem in that the optical member is detached from the housing as adhesion of the adhesive is lowered due to heat generated from the illuminating apparatus.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form any part of the prior art nor what the prior art may suggest to a person of ordinary skill in the art.